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NSU football announces coaching moves

NATCHITOCHES — Northwestern State football coach Jay Thomas has filled his offensive staff by adding two coaching veterans, Alvin Slaughter and Adam Waugh, and promoting assistant Will Weaver.“I think we hit the trifecta,” said Thomas.

NSU football announces coaching moves

NATCHITOCHES — Northwestern State football coach Jay Thomas has filled his offensive staff by adding two coaching veterans, Alvin Slaughter and Adam Waugh, and promoting assistant Will Weaver.

“I think we hit the trifecta,” said Thomas. “This is a great combination of promoting a deserving staff member and adding two really quality men who bring a ton to the table as far as football coaching expertise.”

Weaver, like Thomas, begins his fourth season on the Demons’ staff and will remain as the running backs coach. Slaughter will coach receivers, replacing Derrick Foster, and Waugh will coach tight ends, replacing Jeff Bowen. All personnel moves are subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System, which includes NSU.

Alvin Slaughter(Photo: NSU)

Slaughter has been assistant wide receiver coach and special teams assistant at LSU since 2012, and is a former high school head coach. Waugh was most recently co-defensive coordinator in 2015 and a defensive assistant for the past six seasons at UL Monroe after coaching at Army from 2003-08.

“Coach Slaughter spent four years at LSU working with some really, really good coaches in the most competitive conference in college football. All the guys who have come from Coach Miles’ staff know how to work, because they get an opportunity to really coach there,” said Thomas. “Case in point: we’ve seen what a great job August Mangin has done for us as special teams coordinator and as a recruiter after his time at LSU so I’m confident Coach Slaughter will be a great fit.Slaughter has been on Les Miles’ staff at LSU while the Tigers have produced some of the country’s most dynamic receivers. He also coached at his alma mater, Clarion (Pa.), from 1999-2002 before working at Monsignor Pace High in Miami, Fla., from 2003-11, the last five years as head coach.

“He’s a go-getter, a high-energy guy who has a no-nonsense approach. He’s been a head coach at the high school level in Miami, so has a great grasp of the overall picture. He gives us some recruiting connections in south Florida, and he’ll handle New Orleans and part of Baton Rouge for us,” said Thomas.

Slaughter has coached 10 players currently on NFL rosters and has helped LSU attract several recruits from south Florida in his time with the Tigers.

Adam Waugh(Photo: NSU)

Waugh coached the ULM safeties since 2010, was at Cal Poly in 2009, and coached safeties at Army from 2003-08 after being a graduate assistant at Pitt in 2002. He started every game of his playing career at Illinois State and graduated in 2001 with a 4.0 grade point average in political science, winning Academic All-America honors for two seasons and earning National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete status in 2001.

“Coach Waugh epitomizes what you want in a student-athlete, and as part of a family that’s rooted in coaching football, he took to it the day he walked off with his undergraduate diploma,” said Thomas. “He has 12 years of coaching at the FBS level and being involved with some great success stories at Army and ULM.

“He’s a great addition to our staff, somebody I’ve known and we are lucky to bring into the Demon football program,” said Thomas.

At Army, where his brother still coaches, Waugh coached the Black Knights’ first NFL player in 10 years when Caleb Campbell was drafted in 2007 by the Detroit Lions. Army was twice ranked in the nation’s top 20 in pass defense, seventh in 2006 and 16th in 2007, with Waugh on the staff.

In his tenure at ULM, the Warhawks played in the 2014 Independence Bowl after upsetting top 10-ranked Arkansas in the season opener. ULM’s defense that season finished with four top 20 NCAA statistical rankings. In 2011, the Warhawks were eighth nationally in rushing defense and 21st in total defense.

Will Weaver(Photo: NSU)

Weaver has been a valuable part of the Demon staff in the past three seasons, notably developing running backs De’Mard Llorens, Garrett Atzenweiler and Daniel Taylor into extremely productive elements of NSU’s attack. He previously coached at his alma mater, Valdosta State, along with UAB and Southern Mississippi.

“Coach Weaver has done a heck of a job with our running backs and with every aspect of our program. I always look inside the staff first when we have an opening, and he was an obvious choice to promote because he’s done it all the right way. He’s done an excellent job recruiting in Mississippi and Texas.”

Thomas expressed gratitude to university and athletic department administrators and staff for their roles in completing the NSU staff in time for the vital spring recruiting season.

“A lot of people on our campus contributed to our ability to capitalize on the opportunities to bring these new coaches to our staff, and it makes us better,” he said. “The sense of community and purpose we have at Northwestern State is tremendous.

“I’d like to thank our graduate assistants. Coach Omasha Bradley stepped in during spring practice and coached the receivers and did a very good job of bringing them along. Other GA’s contributed to making our staff operations so smooth, although we were down a couple of guys this spring.

“Adding these coaches to our staff comes on the heels of getting a record APR score announced, along with our three NFL free agent signees Saturday night, and it all ramps up the momentum we have heading into the summer with preseason camp three months away,” said Thomas.

The Demons will convene for preseason workouts in early August, and start the season Sept. 3 at Baylor, with the home opener Sept. 8 in Turpin Stadium against Incarnate Word to kick off the Southland Conference season.